So I've been watching a lot of Star Trek: The Next Generation recently on Netflix and figured I'm probably not the only one here who likes Star Trek. I've since become curious; of those of you who have watched Star Trek, what is your favorite episode (or movie, if you like) and why?

For me, that would be TNG Season 2, Episode 9: "The Measure of a Man".

Ever since I was a little kid, I found robotics and technology fascinating. I grew up playing games on my PC such as the Sonic & Knuckles Collection, MechWarrior 2, and later MechWarrior 4. I also watched the anime adaptation of the Mega Man Battle Network series, Mega Man NT Warrior, which would be my first exposure to the Mega Man franchise before I would go on to play Mega Man 10 many years later, then most of the rest of the Mega Man franchise, becoming the fan of that that I am today. Except for Battle Network and perhaps Star Force, the majority of the named characters in any Mega Man game series are androids who think and feel as, for want of a better word, "human" as any of us. These are robots portrayed as people or individual persons. Even the computer programs of Battle Network, the NetNavis, are pretty much people in their own right.

With that in mind, imagine how I would feel encountering a Star Trek episode where the question "are androids people?" is the primary conflict. For those who haven't seen this episode, here's a summary: A Starfleet commander by the name of Maddox wants to take apart the Enterprise D's crew member and resident android, Commander Data, in the interest of examining him and learning how he works so that he may replicate his construction and create more androids. Effectively, Data would have become the Mega Man X of the Star Trek universe.

Conflict arises when Captain Picard and Data determine that Maddox doesn't have the skills required to do this without harming Data in some way, and Data refuses. Maddox anticipates this and makes a transfer request that Data apparently cannot refuse. Picard disputes this matter with a JAG officer, named Captain Phillipa Louvois, on the station they were on, she references laws made about three centuries before the episode's events, and Picard challenges those laws. Forced to have a hearing on the matter, and with no staff of her own to choose from, she assigns Picard as the defense and his first officer, Commander Riker, as the prosecution. Riker objects to this, of course, because of an apparent conflict of interest (Riker disagrees with Maddox's position on Data's personhood and even considers Data his friend) but relents when Louvois threatens to stand on her ruling if he doesn't accept.

There's a bit of a subplot between Picard and Louvois, but I concentrate on the primary conflict because it's most relevant to my interest. I do think any android, any computer program, that demonstrates qualities like Commander Data does in Star Trek would constitute a person, but this is the first time I've seen that idea challenged in a legal setting, even if it is a science fiction story. I'm actually surprised the Mega Man franchise hasn't explored this in its own way; as far as I'm aware, it just sort of took the idea for granted. I guess it was kinda-sorta relevant in Mega Man 7's ending, and the Mega Man Zero villain Dr. Weil appears to actively deny the personhood of the series' own androids (called Reploids) but then again, Mega Man, one of the very first Robot Masters, really doesn't have the same kind of freedom the Reploids do (including his successor, Mega Man X) and Weil seems to hate absolutely everyone anyway, so his issues with Reploids (which include the protagonist, Zero) don't seem to be a big deal, relatively speaking. It's strange to me because "androids are people" seemed to be a running theme in that franchise.

That aside, though, the writing of this episode was amazing. As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the most solid episodes in the entire franchise, if not the most solid. Which strikes me as unfortunate when we get to Star Trek Voyager, which contains a similar episode regarding the Emergency Medical Hologram, and the precedent established by this episode seems to go ignored… Which is one of many problems with Voyager, but that's a discussion for another thread, I suppose.

What about you? What's your favorite Star Trek episode and why?

The very thing that gives us humans our advanced cognitive abilities can also be our greatest weakness.

From TNG, I particularly like "Darmok". Metaphors, similes, and analogies are vital for us to express ourselves, and when we can't use them, or have to understand ones alien to our experience, it's a fascinating exploration into how we understand ourselves and the universe around us.

I understood, no worries. I love Star Trek, it's where I received my schooling in morality, but I haven't seen anything post-DS9 that was actually good Trek. Sure, some great ideas showed up, but with neither skilled writers nor adequate impetus to do a good job, it deserved to be put out of its misery. I chose a TNG episode simply because I was at work and didn't have the time to explain why I love "Favour the bold" or "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges"... Now I have to have a DS9 rewatch.

I received my schooling in morality from Star Trek as well. I'll go through each series and pick one favorite and my reason for it being my favorite. WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS!:

TOS: The City on the Edge of Forever Kirk and Spock have to go back in time to stop Dr. McCoy from destroying the future. The choice to save the future still makes me question if I could do the same thing in Kirk's place.

TAS: One of Our Planets Is Missing Although the Animated Series is not considered canon, I really liked this episode since Kirk had the ability to destroy the cloud but gave Spock every chance to save the creature that could eat their entire galaxy in time. However, I always wondered what happened once that creature returned to its home galaxy.

TNG: The Drumhead There are parallels in this episode that I still apply to today's fervent and polarised political discourse. The ending quote by Picard still resonates with me: "Maybe. But she, or someone like her, will always be with us, waiting for the right climate in which to flourish, spreading fear in the name of righteousness. Vigilance, Mister Worf - that is the price we have to continually pay. "

DS9: The Visitor Holy shit, I'll go as far to say that this is the greatest Star Trek episode of all time out of all the different series. This one still pulls on my heart strings and has the best acting out of the entire series.

VOY: Timeless Whatever complaints I had with Harry Kim as a character were finally nullified with his acting performance here. This episode is a thrill ride from start to finish with a series that was incredibly campy, it was a refreshing change.

ENT: Damage A lot of people I talk to didn't like Enterprise as a series and it's personally one of my favorites. My reasons? It was really interesting to see how Federation ideals were being tested without the superiority of technology to back it up. In this episode, Archer straight up has to ignore the moral decision in order to save Earth.

There's also some really good fan made series still going on I would recommend watching: Star Trek Continues, Star Trek: New Voyages. Star Trek Outpost podcast is really fun too and I listen to it in my car on the way to work. I'm hoping one day we get another series of Star Trek, I don't think the franchise is dead yet.

"But this is irrelevant because in either case, whether a god exists or not, whether your God (with a capital G) exists or not, it doesn't matter. We both are, in either case, evolved apes. " - Nesslig20

I wait that in absolute joyful terror. Though, to be honest, if it fixes my main gripe with Enterprise I'll be happy and that's the opening credits music. I liked the series as a whole but that music.... oh my Darwin that was bad.

I hope I can find some free time after I finish watching all the Star Trek shows to check out those fan works, Dustnite. I don't believe the franchise is dead yet, either. Of the Abrams movies, Beyond, I think, got the point of Star Trek the best, and I'm hoping Star Trek Discovery will be good.

I wait that in absolute joyful terror. Though, to be honest, if it fixes my main gripe with Enterprise I'll be happy and that's the opening credits music. I liked the series as a whole but that music.... oh my Darwin that was bad.

B-But... I liked that music...

Though I will grant quickly that it doesn't fit in among the other Star Trek themes.

The very thing that gives us humans our advanced cognitive abilities can also be our greatest weakness.

It's the one where the Federation is scoping out (or spying on) a civilization to see if they're future Federation material. Riker gets caught. OMG, he's an alien! Yadda yadda. It's basically a typical alien encounter type thing, just flipped on the head as it's the humans who are the aliens in this one.

The episode has some excitement with the Riker plot going on along side the more political and philosphical issues of the entire encounter.

I've always loved the "how would others view us?" angle on things. And this episode has a particularly interesting angle on that.